2004:
Alexander Cambias, II, was the prodigal son of Alexander Cambias, founder
of Cambias Industries. Set to inherit a fortune, the future of the family
business rest on Alexander’s shoulders. But Alexander wanted none
of it. As a teenager, he faked his death in a car accident. He was set
to never have anything to do with his past, or anyone in it again.
Alexander created the new identity of Zachary Slater, a shrewd self-made
business man and owner of The Seasons Casino in Las Vegas. His newest
employee, Bobby Warner, brought to The Seasons its biggest customer to
date: former actress, model and Cosmetics giant Erica Kane. Zach seemed
to be personally vested interest in Erica. He fueled her raging alcoholism
and gave her the anonymity she needed to escape her life of fame in Pine
Valley. Zach was hiding his resentment to his newest client. Erica was
among the suspects accused of killing his brother, Michael Cambias. Zach
was content to see to Erica’s self-destruction, but Ryan Lavery
and Kendall Hart would intervene and bring her home.
Zach made his way to Pine Valley to begin his new business venture, The
Seasons East Casino. But he really had ulterior motives. His first was
to reunite with Dr. Maria Grey, the woman he knew as Maureen Gorman. Zach
had loved Maureen when she suddenly ran out on him in Las Vegas. She was
then an amnesiac. Dr. David Hayward had convinced her she was wanted on
murder charges and needed go into hiding. Though Zach still had feelings
for Maria, she had since regained her memory and reunited with her husband,
Edmund Grey, and their two children, Sam and Maddie Grey.
Zach also wanted to make Michael’s murderer pay. Zach had focused
his attention on Bianca Montgomery. Zach was shocked to see how compassionate
Bianca was. He could not believe she was Michael’s murderer. But,
Zach had already enacted his revenge by staging a murder mystery game
at The Seasons East with all of Michael’s enemies present. Though
Zach meant no harm, Ryan somehow was shot at the hotel the same night.
Ethan Ramsey would take the fall as Ryan’s shooter. Ethan came to
Pine Valley claiming to be Alexander’s son. His story had checked
out in Zach’s mind. Before Alexander “died,” he had
an affair with Cambias maid Hannah Nichols. Zach secretly ran a DNA test
to confirm his suspicions. Knowing Ethan was his son, he offered to provide
him with legal assistance. Ethan was dating Kendall, who told Ethan that
Zach was not as he seemed.
Maria found out about Zach’s true identity. Edmund was investigating
Zach for Ryan’s shooting. Zach’s continued presence in Maria’s
life compromised her marriage. Edmund filed for divorce after learning
that Maria knew about Zach’s past.
Zach’s continued relationship with Bianca made Zach come to terms
with the truth about Michael. Michael was not the boy Zach left behind.
Michael had become consumed by Alexander’s influence. Myrtle Fargate
reached out to Zach. Michael had raped Bianca in Myrtle’s home.
She was one of the only people who wanted to give Zach a chance. The only
good thing that Michael ever did was his daughter with Bianca, Miranda
Montgomery. On Christmas Eve, Zach was present to see Miranda and Bianca
finally reunited after months apart.

2005:
Ethan wanted to make Zach pay for abandoning him. Now with controlling
interest in Cambias Industries as a result of Alexander's will, Ethan
used his money to destroy his father, going so far as to have his gambling
license revoked. Ethan’s most dastardly deed was to implicate Zach
in Edmund’s murder. Maria did not want to believe Zach, but Zach
did not want to see his son to go to prison for perjury either.
After being exonerated for murder, Zach needed to save Ethan from his
undoing. He approached Kendall who too saw Ethan’s transformation.
Zach and Kendall eloped. With her FUSION shares, Zach gained control of
Cambias Industries. Ethan was subjugated to working at FUSION.Maria
decided to leave town to start a new life. Zach kissed Maria one last
time, but she made it clear their life together was over. Zach’s
love for Maria was put to the test when her sister, Julia Keefer, escaped
Witness Protection and found refuge at Wildwind. Zach offered her protection
as she eluded the crime-lord, The Dragon. Kendall had a longstanding rivalry
with Julia that stemmed from their time living together at Wildwind. Kendall
was extremely jealous of their relationship. Their marriage of convenience
was becoming something more.
Kendall agreed to carry Greenlee and Ryan’s baby after Ryan seemingly
died in a motorcycle accident. Zach did not want to loose his wife to
her former lover. He staged a blackout hoping it would destroy Ryan’s
last sperm sample at Dr. Greg Madden’s fertility clinic. Only, Kendall
took matters into her own hands and impregnated herself. When Greenlee
found out the child Kendall was carrying was not hers, she left Pine Valley.
Kendall decided to divorce Zach to come to terms with having Ryan’s
child.

2006:
Zach and Kendall worked their way back to each other. But Ryan and Ethan
had a bombshell for Kendall. At the Mardi Gras Ball, they revealed Zach’s
part in the blackout that forced Kendall to impregnate herself. Betrayed,
Kendall left Zach again. That same night, an explosion in the ballroom
killed Ethan. In his dying breath, Ethan blamed Zach for all the pain
he experienced in his life.
Zach was one of the first people to find Dixie Cooney alive in Pine Valley.
She had been accidentally shot by her own son. Zach kept her hidden at
The Seasons while doctors treated her. Dixie asked Zach about Dr. Greg
Madden, the doctor helping Kendall through her pregnancy. The doctor was
less than honorable. He had taken Dixie’s child away from her after
making her believe she was dying. Zach found out Greg had taken Kendall
away to his island clinic. Greg used the island clinic to steal children
away from their mothers. Zach rescued Kendall and told her about Greg’s
true nature. Kendall admitted she was still in love with Zach. They remarried
on the boat trip back to Pine Valley.JR
Chandler accidentally caused a scaffold to fall on Kendall, sending her
into a coma. His real target was Babe Chandler, his wife. The doctors
wanted Zach to choose between saving Kendall, or her unborn son. Zach
knew Kendall wanted to put the welfare of her son first, but Erica was
not about to let her daughter die. Zach barricaded himself in Kendall’s
room so the doctors could not perform a surgery that would have killed
her son. The doctors were able to safely deliver Spike Lavery. After all
he did to save his son, Ryan agreed to let Zach be a part of Spike’s
life.
Kendall awoke and was grateful for Zach’s intervention. She wanted
to enact revenge on JR, but Zach stopped her out of loyalty to Dixie.
He was now helping her find her lost daughter, Kate Martin. When Greg
was found buried alive, they became the main suspects. At trial, Tad Martin,
Dixie’s ex-husband and Kate’s father, tried to implicate them
for Greg’s murder, though he was the true culprit.

2007:
Zach’s past came back to haunt him when a Serial Killer targeted
the women of FUSION. Alexander Cambias had faked his death in Nevada.
He had been concocting his plan of revenge against Zach for his deception.
Kendall was to be his last victim. With Ryan’s help, he stopped
Alexander before he could take another life.
Ethan’s mother Hannah came to Pine Valley to mourn her son. She
began working at Cambias Enterprises shoulder to shoulder with Zach. Zach
was unaware of Hannah’s ulterior motives. Hannah did not only want
to be close to Ethan, she wanted a second change at having a child with
Zach. After begging Zach for another child, Hannah left Pine Valley.Kendall
learned she was pregnant. The couple anticipated the birth of their own
son. Their happiness was overshadowed by Greenlee’s return. Greenlee
was determined to reclaim her old life, including Ryan and Spike. When
Greenlee learned Zach has caused the blackout, she wanted to press criminal
charges against him.
Greenlee rejoined FUSION. She and Kendall were on the way to New York
when Kendall suddenly had labor pains. Babe took Kendall to the hospital
in her car, and Greenlee was to follow behind them with Spike. Only Greenlee
saw this as her opportunity to skip town with Spike. On her getaway, her
car drove off an embankment. Spike was rushed to the hospital where it
was revealed her had lost his hearing. The stress caused Kendall to go
into premature labor. Ian Slater was born so prematurely, that neither
of his parents could even hold him.Hannah
returned to Pine Valley and picked up her life at Cambias Enterprises.
Zach reached out to Hannah again as the began to cope with the fact that
she would never have Zach’s child.
After JR faked his kidnapping, Adam Chandler turned to Zach for a loan
to pay the ransom. Zach manipulated his way into taking over Chandler
Industries.
Zach hired Aidan Devane to keep Greenlee away from his family. Kendall
and Zach struggled to help their children. At the same time, Annie Lavery
believed she was being stalked. Zach and Ryan learned her psychopath brother,
Richie Novak, was on the loose.
Richie ran Zach down and tried to hide his body in the forest. Greenlee
ran across Zach and tried to bring him to safety. They fell into a bomb
shelter. Richie sealed them in, leaving them for dead. But Zach and Greenlee
struggled to survive. Zach finally saw that Greenlee was remorseful for
causing so much pain. Zach felt he too was to blame for Greenlee’s
pain. As they lay near death, Kendall and Aidan found them on Christmas
Eve.

2008:
Zach and Kendall finally brought Ian home. The couple had a semblance
of normalcy now that Kendall and Greenlee had ended their feud. Hannah
made one last attempt to win Zach back. She aimed to shoot and kill Kendall,
but missed and shot Ryan in the head. Zach tracked Hannah to Miller Falls.
There, Hannah admitted to working for Adam in his bid to win back Chandler
Industries. Hannah also revealed that she had slept with Alexander, prompting
her decision to give Ethan away and break her affiliation with the Cambias
family. Before Zach could talk her off the cliff, they both lost their
balance and hung on the fall’s edge. Hannah had given up hope on
life and fell into the abyss.
Zach went to Paris on business and spent time with Bianca and her girlfriend,
Reese Williams. Bianca asked Zach for a large favor. She wanted Miranda
to have a sibling and asked Zach for a sperm donation. Zach was Miranda’s
only living Cambias relative. Zach agreed to the arrangement, but never
told Kendall.Ryan’s
injury caused him to have retrograde memory loss. He thought he was still
engaged to Kendall. Zach turned to Greenlee for support as Ryan pursued
his wife. Then, both of them learned that Aidan and Kendall had slept
together while they were stuck in the bomb shelter. Kendall and Zach also
had a falling out when Josh was found embezzling money from Cambias Enterprises.
Zach showed his dark streak when he threatened to kill Josh. Zach and
Kendall knew their marriage was on rocky ground.
Zach worried about Annie’s mental state. Richie was found dead,
and Zach was among the many suspects. Annie seemed to want to point the
finger at everyone. Zach offered to help Annie by sending her to a psychiatrist.
The psychiatrist was actually on his payroll. He listened to Annie admit
to actually killing her brother herself. Zach kept Annie’s secret,
unaware of how far she was descending into madness.Zach
took Kendall and the kids away to the beach for a family getaway. That
night, a tornado ripped through Pine Valley. Zach returned to the beach
house only to find Kendall and a very pregnant Bianca buried in the rubble.
After making sure the boys were safe, Zach tended to the wounded ladies.
Bianca went into labor. She gave birth to Gabrielle Montgomery. Kendall
would not regain consciousness. She sustained massive trauma to her brain
and heart.
Bianca and Reese helped Zach with the kids as he tended to Kendall’s
condition. In his rage at the hospital, he accidentally pushed Taylor
Thompson down the stairs. Desperate to save Kendall’s life, Zach
agreed to allow the hospital to restore David’s surgery privileges.
Zach also struggled with how he was going to tell Kendall the truth about
Gabrielle’s paternity.
At the end of the year, Erica told Zach that Myrtle had passed on in her
sleep. Zach dedicated a room to Myrtle in the rebuilt The Seasons East
Casino.